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(Help) H100i front mount & case fan setup


Crazing

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I have a Phanteks P400s case and I can only mount my H100i in the front. At the moment I have it set to intake, which means the heat is being expelled into the case, along with the GPU exhausting heat into the case. I have two 140mm fans on top exhausting and a 120mm fan exhausting from the rear.

 

When I take off the side panel both the CPU and GPU drop about 5-10 degrees Celsius (depending on application and ambient temp in the room) , is there another way I should arrange my fans to achieve better airflow/temps without having to constantly remove my side panel?

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You have 2 x 120mm fans pulling air in, through a radiator and 2 x 140mm and a 120mm fans exhausting out of the top, which is, to me anyway, an unbalanced airflow. Can you fit a third 120mm fan above the radiator pulling air into the case? I would guess that with the side panels on, the upper fans are trying to suck more air out than is available, removing the side panels allows them to function properly. Of course I could be wrong, but that's what I would try.
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You have 2 x 120mm fans pulling air in, through a radiator and 2 x 140mm and a 120mm fans exhausting out of the top, which is, to me anyway, an unbalanced airflow. Can you fit a third 120mm fan above the radiator pulling air into the case? I would guess that with the side panels on, the upper fans are trying to suck more air out than is available, removing the side panels allows them to function properly. Of course I could be wrong, but that's what I would try.

 

In order for me to fit an another 120mm fan up front I would have to remove the cover that hides my PSU and HDD bay, and underneath that I actually use the 3.5in HDD bay. So no I wouldn't be able too.

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It's possible that the only way to do what you want is to reverse the flow, i.e cool air in from the top and exhaust through your rad. How high are the temps, with and without the side panel on?

 

Hopefully c-attack will be along with his usual sage advice.

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Top intake/front & rear exhaust was the first thing that came to mind. However, this is usually a tricky balance point and it doesn't always work out. Generally with this type of case, the biggest restriction is the top/bottom inlets on the closed front door. Combine that with a radiator and it is a pretty big restriction. It could be warm air from the radiator is adding heat to the case. It could be the combination of inlet style and radiator takes your intake air to a trickle and thus the total air exchange for the case is quite low. Maybe a little of both. I would try this and see how it goes.

 

Are there any other factors that might influence the case environment? Trapped under a desk? Wedged into a corner?

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I have a Phanteks P400s case and I can only mount my H100i in the front. At the moment I have it set to intake, which means the heat is being expelled into the case, along with the GPU exhausting heat into the case. I have two 140mm fans on top exhausting and a 120mm fan exhausting from the rear.

 

When I take off the side panel both the CPU and GPU drop about 5-10 degrees Celsius (depending on application and ambient temp in the room) , is there another way I should arrange my fans to achieve better airflow/temps without having to constantly remove my side panel?

 

I have the same case, except I have a H115i. I have my radiator fans set to intake, and I have a 120mm at the top of my case intaking air (as well as the 120 at the back exhausting air). I also have my rad fans set to PULL, not push, which means they are blowing air onto my components directly.

 

I think you need more intake at the top. Try changing those 140's to intake and see if it makes a difference.

 

P.S. Don't worry about too much "positive" airflow. That's all a bunch of nonsense. It might make a difference in a perfectly controlled environment where there's zero air leaks, but our cases aren't perfect and do have leaks.

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It's possible that the only way to do what you want is to reverse the flow, i.e cool air in from the top and exhaust through your rad. How high are the temps, with and without the side panel on?

 

Hopefully c-attack will be along with his usual sage advice.

 

I have thought about doing that, might try that today as an experiment.

 

For an example from the other while playing Mass Effrct Andromeda. My room tends to get pretty warm because the sunlight hits my side of the house pretty much most of the day until evening.

 

Panel ON:

-GPU: ~74

-CPU: ~78

 

 

Panel OFF:

-GPU: ~65

-CPU: ~67

 

I have a GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 and a stock i7 4790k

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Ah, I think we are getting to the heart of the matter. That's a lot of GPU heat. The 1080 Ti seems to be better than the 980Ti predecessor, but that is still a lot of wattage. You'd like more exhaust to get the waste heat out, but at the same time you still need intake air to complete the air exchange. Blasting the top and rear as exhaust may not be effective if you can't bring more air into the case from the front or even through open rear mesh (if there is any).

 

ME:A is also a relatively tough test. I am surprised how much CPU load it creates -- the most of any game I own. The GPU heat is fairly obvious and that may ramp up or down depending on resolution and frame rate. I think most of your case heat is GPU related, but the restriction in intake may be the choke point.

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Top intake/front & rear exhaust was the first thing that came to mind. However, this is usually a tricky balance point and it doesn't always work out. Generally with this type of case, the biggest restriction is the top/bottom inlets on the closed front door. Combine that with a radiator and it is a pretty big restriction. It could be warm air from the radiator is adding heat to the case. It could be the combination of inlet style and radiator takes your intake air to a trickle and thus the total air exchange for the case is quite low. Maybe a little of both. I would try this and see how it goes.

 

Are there any other factors that might influence the case environment? Trapped under a desk? Wedged into a corner?

 

Hmmmmmmm. Definitely a thought. And my case is next to my desk (not underneath) on top of this little piece of furniture I use to get it off the ground.

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Ah, I think we are getting to the heart of the matter. That's a lot of GPU heat. The 1080 Ti seems to be better than the 980Ti predecessor, but that is still a lot of wattage. You like more exhaust to get the waste heat out, but at the same time you still need intake air to complete the air exchange. Blasting the top and rear as exhaust may not be effective if you can bring more air into the case from the front or even through open rear mesh (if there is any).

 

ME:A is also a relatively tough test. I am surprised how much CPU load it creates -- the most of any game I own. The GPU heat is fairly obvious and that may ramp up or down depending on resolution and frame rate. I think most of your case heat is GPU related, but the restriction in intake may be the choke point.

 

Yes it is, I have a pretty aggressive fan curve on my GPU to where it kicks in to 100% fan speed around 70 degrees Celsius (I like my stuff to be cool lol) and from the top exhaust fans I can really feel the heat that's coming from inside. Same with my CPU, I also have an aggressive fan curve on my H100i. But with ME:A, things really start to get warm underload. I've even brought the GPU and the CPU back to stock clocks just because it's summer and the heat isn't going to help me lol.

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Hmmmmmmm. Definitely a thought. And my case is next to my desk (not underneath) on top of this little piece of furniture I use to get it off the ground.

 

That's always a good idea. So immediate local environment is probably not the issue. Obviously when the whole room heats up from Summer, there isn't much you can do. Half my place is glass and the sun hits it in the afternoons. Huge swing in late day temps and shades aren't going to help enough. I just have to live with it.

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That's always a good idea. So immediate local environment is probably not the issue. Obviously when the whole room heats up from Summer, there isn't much you can do. Half my place is glass and the sun hits it in the afternoons. Huge swing in late day temps and shades aren't going to help enough. I just have to live with it.

 

I'm kinda thinking I may just have to live with this and just have the side panel off when it's hot in my room. During the cool hours of the day temps are fine with the side panel on. May have made themistake of getting a good looking case over functionality.

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I have the same case, except I have a H115i. I have my radiator fans set to intake, and I have a 120mm at the top of my case intaking air (as well as the 120 at the back exhausting air). I also have my rad fans set to PULL, not push, which means they are blowing air onto my components directly.

 

I think you need more intake at the top. Try changing those 140's to intake and see if it makes a difference.

 

P.S. Don't worry about too much "positive" airflow. That's all a bunch of nonsense. It might make a difference in a perfectly controlled environment where there's zero air leaks, but our cases aren't perfect and do have leaks.

 

Is your GPU a blower style card or an open shroud where the heat just spills into the case?

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Is your GPU a blower style card or an open shroud where the heat just spills into the case?

 

Open shroud. The GPU puts off most of the heat in my case and it heats up the liquid in my H115i to 38-40°C even when my CPU itself is almost idle.

 

I really want to liquid cool my GPU to force all the heat to a radiator that would make it easier to exhaust.

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Open shroud. The GPU puts off most of the heat in my case and it heats up the liquid in my H115i to 38-40°C even when my CPU itself is almost idle.

 

I really want to liquid cool my GPU to force all the heat to a radiator that would make it easier to exhaust.

 

So with your top fan intaking and your rear exhausting, you don't see any weird temps with all this air being pushed around? Like the GPU is exhausting hot air towards the side panel and towards the radiator (which the radiator is also spilling that heat towards the GPU, almost like they're colliding), and you have air being pushed in from the top while air is being exhausted in the rear. I mean to me that just sounds wonky but if it seems to work then hey I'm all for it.

 

I'd like to do the same, except I don't trust myself with liquid cooling lol.

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